The panel on CNN's "NewsNight with Abby Phillip" melted down on Thursday night over the artworks the Department of Homeland Security has been posting on its social media accounts.
Over the last several months, DHS has been posting art that appears to reflect Nazi propaganda. For instance, the department recently posted an image of two Greenlandic mush teams with the phrase "Which Way, Greenland Man?" Heidi Beirich, a co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told The Guardian that the art was a subtle nod to a white supremacist phrase, "Which Was Western Man?"
Charles Blow, the Langston Hughes Fellow at Harvard University, said on "NewsNight" that the decision to use this art is "a horrible political play" for the Trump administration.
Blow's comments didn't sit well with Brianna Lyman, a reporter from the ultraconservative The Federalist.
"First of all, how dare you sit here and accuse [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents of being nazi, Gestapo, and white supremacists?" Lyman shot back.
"Is that what I'm saying?" Blow said. "Is that what I said?!"
"You just insinuated that they're apparently recruiting others, and then it's a dog whistle for others to then apply to that," Lyman added.
"Absolutely," Blow replied.
The back-and-forth caused other panelists to chime in.
The debate happened at a time when the actions of Trump's immigration officers are under increased scrutiny. Last week, ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis, who was leaving the scene of an immigration raid in her car.
Good's killing sparked protests and calls for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to resign.
